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Old 10-28-2008, 07:49 PM
 
1 posts, read 25,146 times
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Does my Gas Hot Water heater located in my garage have to be off of the floor 18"????? It is sitting on short legs and was bought in 2004. Am trying to sell my house and was told during an inspection, that it must be that far off of the floor.
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Old 10-28-2008, 08:00 PM
 
64 posts, read 280,845 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lacar View Post
Does my Gas Hot Water heater located in my garage have to be off of the floor 18"????? It is sitting on short legs and was bought in 2004. Am trying to sell my house and was told during an inspection, that it must be that far off of the floor.
I am not an inspector, but I just measured mine in the garage and it is 20" off the ground. So you probably need it to be...

I am in a 2008 DR Horton home.
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Old 10-29-2008, 05:50 AM
 
Location: Charleston, SC
5,615 posts, read 14,788,317 times
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1992 custom-built w/ a gas water heater in a small closet you get at from the outside and yeah - mine's off the ground too. About 18-20 inches.
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Old 10-29-2008, 06:01 AM
 
Location: Wiesbaden, Germany
13,815 posts, read 29,383,829 times
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Mine's on a platform in the garage and I'm guessing the height is to provide a means for gravity to discharge the water from the pan in case there's a leak.
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Old 10-29-2008, 07:27 AM
 
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I also have a home built in 2008 and my gas water heater is off the floor about 20 inches. It is on a platform with a pan and drain for leaking.
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Old 10-29-2008, 08:07 AM
 
Location: San Antonio
1,893 posts, read 5,586,220 times
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Yes, that is a city plumbing code. I think you could get around it by building a closet around it that vents to the outside so that any gas leaks would not be in the garage where a spark from your car could ignite it. That would basically put your water heater in another room. Although it would be cheaper just to raise it up 18" off the ground. I personally think it is just one of those codes that are written for the purpose of generating more dollars for the plumbing industry. I believe you can legally have a gas water heater in your kitchen right next to your gas stove and that's no problem. Go figure. If they really wanted to do something for safety they would require all gas water heaters to be in a closet vented to the outside and all gas water heaters to have 18 inch legs. I just got a bid to add a new gas line to my existing gas system to change my electric kitchen stove out for a gas stove. Due to all of the legalities, codes and inspections it was going to cost me $1500 to plumb about 10 feet of gas line. I'm having a master plumber come over and do it illegally for $100. It will be the same plumbing job that, going though the legal system, would cost $1500. Making something so expensive to do correctly defeats the purpose. Most people probably wind up just going to Home Depot and buying some pipe and fittings and doing it themselves even if they have never plumbed anything before or not. Oh, by the way. Doing it within the system I would have been without gas service at my house (no hot water, no heat and no kitchen stove) for about two weeks waiting on inspections. Going around the system, I'm without service for about two hours. Don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting that anyone attempt to do things that they are not qualified to do such as gas plumbing or electrical work etc. The results could be disastrous for you and your family and possibly your neighbors. I'm just saying the system is broke.
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Old 10-29-2008, 08:13 AM
 
44 posts, read 219,857 times
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Default Why it's raised

It's not for water drainage, raising the water heater (or any appliance that could ignite fumes from improperly stored gasoline) is about a fire/explosion hazard.

Check out the below thread...

ICC Bulletin Board: Water Heater in Garage (http://www.iccsafe.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=001469 - broken link)
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Old 10-29-2008, 09:05 AM
 
Location: Wiesbaden, Germany
13,815 posts, read 29,383,829 times
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my water heater is electric (along with everything else in the house), so I'm sticking by my theory of providing a gravity flow in case of a leak..
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Old 10-29-2008, 09:08 AM
 
165 posts, read 463,799 times
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When I sold a house in IL, the same was required of me. So I'd bet yes.
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Old 10-29-2008, 09:19 AM
 
Location: San Antonio
1,893 posts, read 5,586,220 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rd2007 View Post
my water heater is electric (along with everything else in the house), so I'm sticking by my theory of providing a gravity flow in case of a leak..
On second thought, I think that NJTransplant is right. It's flamables being stored around the water heater. BTW an eletric water heat has the same issues with being an igniter although not as obvious as a gas flame. I really don't see how raising it up 18" is going to affect gravity. The force of gravity will remain the same.
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